


Magic on Your Skin

by Bini_28



Category: Given (Anime), Given (Manga)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, Fluff, M/M, Relationship Study, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, literally only fluff, physical affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28693461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bini_28/pseuds/Bini_28
Summary: Uenoyama Ritsuka didn’t dislike being touched, he just never understood why people treasured it so much. Romantic physical affection was especially strange to him. He thought he understood why people liked it, but he never really got it.And then he met Mafuyu.A study of Mafuyu and Uenoyama's relationships as the latter learns the feelings of being in love.
Relationships: Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka
Comments: 4
Kudos: 97





	Magic on Your Skin

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this one very shortly after I finished watching Given. I am so soft for the two of them and I just HAD to write some pure fluff about them because they deserve to be happy.

Uenoyama Ritsuka didn’t dislike being touched, he just never understood why people treasured it so much. Romantic physical affection was especially strange to him. He thought he understood why people liked it, but he never really got it. It must be something about being in love with someone, that made you want to be physically close to them, that made you look at people differently. It must be unique, making your heart beat faster and your skin feel warm and your soul calm down. He wanted to know this feeling, but until his second year of high school, no girl he knew made him feel any change inside him. 

And then he met Mafuyu. That strange boy that sat on the empty staircase, and only got passionate when Uenoyama played a simple chord. Before he even got to know his name, the boy grabbed his shirt and asked him to teach him how to play guitar. Uenoyama felt like his heart was grabbed too, clenched in the boy’s hands. It still felt like that for a few days, until he heard Mafuyu sing. The sound of his voice made Uenoyama’s heart feel free again, like he opened a door to a new place inside him he’s never been to.

In that new place, every time they touched each other, warmth was sent through all of Uenoyama’s body. The gentle touch of removing Mafuyu’s bangs out of his face, or the more aggressive touch of grabbing his shirt and asking him to sing once again, telling him how much his music moved him. He just felt the need to stay in Mafuyu’s presence, and find every opportunity to feel his skin against his own. For example, he didn't need to cup Mafuyu’s face in his hands when telling him he believed he could write the lyrics to their song, yet he did it, felt the smooth skin getting warm and flustered under his fingers. It felt nice.

It took Uenoyama some time to realize what he actually felt, that this was what other people describe as romantic attraction. His sister, Yayoi, always talked about her boyfriends, and he realized that he thought about Mafuyu the same way. It took him even longer to accept these feelings. It was much with the help from Akihiko, who gave him validation, and shared tiny bits of his story with Uenoyama. He knew he wanted to be close to Mafuyu, hear his pain, even though he was afraid of that pain being unrequited love for someone else.

When he kissed Mafuyu for the first time, Uenoyama realized what people found so great about these.  
It was the closest two people could be - connected to each other, feeling like they are the same being for just one second. Just the two of them, the tears and the pain Mafuyu had let out on the stage. Uenoyama also realized that physical affection can show a feeling, and apparently, it was sometimes easier than saying stuff explicitly. He couldn’t imagine himself finding the courage to confess his love right there backstage, but somehow he found himself locking lips with that guy who stirred his heart, and it spoke for itself. He could convey emotions through putting an arm around his shoulder and kiss him in a way that says “You’re okay now, you can move on, I’m in love with you and am here for you.” 

***

When he came to visit the sick Mafuyu, the next day, Uenoyama figured out why lovers felt the constant need to touch each other and have physical contact.  
It was a way of sensing the one close to you, realizing how he feels without the other having to voice it in words. Uenoyama remembered how hot Mafuyu’s face felt under his fingers. The younger boy trembled a little bit. Just by feeling his skin, Uenoyama could tell that Mafuyu had let out everything he had last night on the stage - he performed for the first time in his life, as a lead singer, with a song about feelings he never voiced before. Uenoyama thought he probably had some part in the exhaustion the poor boy felt right now, as he made the emotions Mafuyu had to deal with much more complex. He could also tell that as weak he physically was at that moment, he was at the best mental state Uenoyama ever saw him. He couldn't tell exactly what had changed about Mafuyu, but he felt it when he carefully stroked his face. He hoped Mafuyu could read his touch too, to understand he was trying to say “I am proud of you. You are amazing and I care about you”.

***

When they walked home that one summer day, and Mafuyu offered him his hand, Uenoyama understood the sense of security physical affection could bring.   
It's not that he felt unsafe at that certain moment, but once Mafuyu’s hand was in his, he felt himself stand a little taller, walk more confidently, as he was feeling Mafuyu’s presence through his palm. Holding hands meant love, in its most everyday aspect. Not any bold or intimate gesture, but a reassuring sensation of not being alone. When they walked hand in hand, for as long as the street was free of other people, they didn’t speak because they didn't have to. With each little squeeze of their hands, both of them knew they were there for each other, and that both of them were confident enough to admit it.

The form of affection that took Uenoyama the longest to understand was hugs. It just didn’t make sense. Wrapping your arms around another person, who does the same in return, but you have to stand in a very specific angle to adjust to the height difference between the two, and if you are sitting it's just uncomfortable because there’s your legs between and you have to weirdly reach over to feel the other close to you. He almost never hugged people.

But then Mafuyu came into his life. From the first moment, Uenoyama felt the need to protect him. A feeling that started to bloom at the amazed look on Mafuyu’s face when Uenoyama played the first chord on the guitar, grew bigger when he first heard him sing, and kept developing as Mafuyu finally let out the feelings he kept inside for a long time. Mafuyu wasn’t weak, but he has been hurt so deeply, and voicing his emotions was only a first step, it would take him much longer to overcome them.

There were these moments when Mafuyu looked like he was about to cry. He had that expression, where his eyes shined a little brighter and opened a little wider, his mouth slightly open and his eyebrows turned upward. These were the moments where Uenoyama wanted to protect him the most. Usually, when he was about to cry, it was because something reminded him of Yuki - it could be anything.  
When Uenoyama noticed these signs on his boyfriend’s face, he would reach forward, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. Usually, it was Uenoyama who initiated the hugs. Mafuyu would respond slowly, relax in his arms and only then hug back or say something. It made Uenoyama calm down too, as he knew his loved one wasn’t alone, he was protected.

What was he trying to protect Mafuyu from? Was it the painful memories and the guilt, or was it something much more selfish - protect him from the memory of a past love because Uenoyama felt like he could never compare to that guy, so he would hug Mafuyu in hope to distract him and make him focus on the present, the boyfriend he had now, that was willing to do everything for him.

***

Uenoyama Ritsuka didn’t understand love, he didn’t understand what people found so beautiful about relationships, but he deeply wanted to find out. He just wanted to feel the validation of being loved. He never imagined this is how it would feel - first of all, he didn’t imagine he would fall for a boy, he never thought it would be such a ride, and it was just the beginning.

Loving Mafuyu taught him so many things. He learned to accept himself, he learned how it feels to have a person you put first, he learned of feelings and urges inside of him he never knew existed, he learned how to show care more than he already did, and most of all, he learned the deep, emotional meanings physical touch could have. A hand brushing on a cheek, holding someone close and kissing him gently, leaning on the other’s shoulder. It meant so much to him, to be able to feel so free with someone. Uenoyama rewinded the past few months in his mind, all the memories of close intimacy with Mafuyu. 

He was thankful. He learned so much, he grew so much, thanks to a boy sleeping on an abandoned staircase carrying an expensive guitar. Without meeting him, nothing would be the same now.


End file.
